Franklin refutes accusations from Iowa about injuries to Penn State players

Penn State coach James Franklin refuted allegations from Iowa fans and coaches that his players faked injuries during last weekend's 23-20 loss.

Franklin explained Wednesday that exaggerating ailments has "not shown up" as a strategy in his 12 years as a bench boss, according to ESPN's Heather Dinich.

"In my eight years as a head coach, has anyone seen that? Has that shown up at Penn State? My 12 years as a head coach, has that shown up? It has not shown up."

Franklin's comments come a day after Hawkeyes coach Kirk Ferentz acknowledged some of the Nittany Lions' injuries and questioned the legitimacy of others.

The 49-year-old criticized the tactic of faking injures against a team that huddles between plays, adding that "people use this strategy to slow people down." Franklin points out that his defense was playing "lights out" and had no reason to want to slow the momentum down.

The 2016 Co-Big Ten Coach of the Year also revealed that Penn State lost senior defensive tackle PJ Mustipher for the campaign after Iowa's first offensive drive.

"Put yourself in the shoes of a parent," he said. "Your son is down on the field for an injury, and the stadium is booing him. ... Your son is down on the field with an injury - and I just told you PJ Mustipher is done for the year - and we're booing. Is that good for college football?"

Franklin declined to go into detail about the status of starting quarterback Sean Clifford, who also left the game with an injury. Franklin did say that Clifford’s ailment should not be season-ending.

Ta'Quan Roberson, who replaced Clifford against the Hawkeyes, is splitting reps with freshman Christian Veilleux, but "nothing has been decided."

The Nittany Lions will return to action against Illinois on Oct. 23.